THE CHINOSITY XPERIENCE
THE CHINOSITY XPERIENCE was an event held to empower Asian and Chinese artists, musicians, and creators. Hosted at the Asia Society, in the heart of New York City, the Xperience was a celebration of Chinese culture and the Asian diaspora in New York City.
The Xperience featured distinct lounges with access to musical performances, a student pop-up art gallery, and discussions with business creators.
Musical Performance Gallery
Panelist Gallery
Art Gallery
Behind The Scenes
Bohan Phoenix is a China-born, NYC-raised rapper best known for bilingual rhymes that champion his multi-national identity. After moving to the US at age 11, Bohan learned English through rap, falling in love with hip hop after watching Eminem in 8 Mile, another outsider finding acceptance through music. Bohan has since toured the US and China extensively, collaborating on both sides of the globe with the likes of Higher Brothers in the East or Ryan Hemsworth, Benji B or Dumbfoundead in the West.
Tigerlily is a Seattle-raised, New-York-City-based pop artist currently working on her debut album. Prior to launching as a solo artist, she was the front-woman of the all-girl rock band Bleachbear which was named Seattle’s Best Underage Band and released three albums, the most recent of which, “Deep Sea Baby,” came out this October. You can find her on Instagram at @tigerlilycooley.
An emerging artist from Virginia, Frank has been playing music for his entire life, but he only felt strong and vulnerable to release his original work after he came out as gay to his family in 2018. He is in Naturopathic medical school, pursuing a doctorate in holistic medicine and masters in human nutrition. He truly believes that music and the arts are powerful tools in overcoming trauma and promoting world peace. He plays across the US and Europe, singing about the struggles in life, the painful beauty of love, and writes songs about his identity as a first-generation Chinese-American gay man. His music carries sound from American Folk/Bluegrass, Chinese folk, R&B, and Soul. Frank’s ultimate goal is to bring peace, light and healing to the world, as serve as the Chinese-American artist role model he didn’t have growing up.
Rob Chen is an NYC actor & artist working in film, music, and media. He recently released his single Y’all produced by Mixtape Seoul under the alias Blu Hyku. He stars in the film Secret Lives Of Asians At Night which has been screened domestically and internationally. He co-hosts China On The Internet, a podcast that delivers news on Chinese modern culture and entertainment, and is also a member of Model Majority, NYC’s first Asian American sketch comedy team. Rob loves pistachio ice-cream.
POWERUP! PANELISTS
ARIEH SMITH: YouTuber @ Xiaomanyc 小马在纽约
Arieh Smith is a popular Chinese and English-language vlogger with over a million fans in China and around the world. Known to his audience as Xiaoma 小马, he spends his days introducing people on the streets of New York City to Chinese and Asian culture. On YouTube, his videos can be found at Xiaomanyc 小马在纽约. A longtime student of Chinese since a stint in Beijing in 2009, he now teaches the language on a weekly volunteer basis at a nonprofit in Manhattan.
Wanting grew up in Beijing, received her BA at Peking University, an LLM at the Boston University School of Law, and MESc at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
MELISSA SHAN: Marketing, Mala Project
Melissa Shan works at MaLa Project for its in-house marketing and copyrighting. Started as a host at Mala, Melissa has developed a genuine interest in the hospitality industry. Besides Mala Project, Melissa has also held marketing positions in Mount Lai and PUBLIC Hotel.
STUDENT POP-UP GALLERY FEATURING ARTISTS FROM
- NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
- PRATT INSTITUTE
- COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
- SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS
- PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN
- THE NEW SCHOOL